Saturday, July 07, 2007

Mystery Stole Clue 2 is finished. I didn't pin it out for the photo this time, so here it is all rumply:

There were only 50 rows this week, and it was a pretty fast knit- I did the whole clue in a movie and a half (all of Star Wars-A New Hope and half of The Empire Strikes Back). I really like the design so far, but it's a bit frustrating to have to wait another whole week to get the next part of the chart. Alas, I guess that's part and parcel of doing a mystery-along.

I had an interesting thought as I was knitting. Reading a chart is like reading a musical score. I played viola for several years in elementary/junior high, and always thought it was really neat the way my brain translated what my eyes saw on the page into finger movements, without me really even thinking about it.

Tonight, I felt that same thing happening while I knit. I could read a few stitches on the chart, my fingers started going, and while those stitches were being knit, I glanced up to see what the next few stitches were going to be. I can't quite knit lace without looking, though I can stockinette, but a glance at the chart every so often across the row was enough, and my fingers kept moving the whole time. I didn't have to think "ssk" or "k2tog" or "yo," I just saw the symbol and my fingers did it.

yes sue, that is my poem. i should have noted it as such! to think the whole thing started out as the drawing...and snail spirals was the name of the drawing. it was most likely subliminally inspired by you though!

I'm not going as quickly as you, but I'm having the same "musical" experience. Suddenly I can think in knitting, rather than translating symbols to words to actions. It's lovely! (And so is your stole.) :-)